The Charity Begins At Bernie's

From The Daily News (really, $75K in royalties on a book for which he wrote a few sentences?):

Former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik accepted thousands of dollars in royalties from a book published to raise money for the families of heroes killed on Sept. 11, 2001, the Daily News has learned.

Kerik contributed an 11-sentence foreword to the book of photographs, titled "In the Line of Duty," in which he praised police and firefighters who "desperately fought and struggled and bled and died in a noble effort."

"Theirs is a story beyond words; a story of bravery, fidelity and sacrifice; a story that must never be forgotten," Kerik wrote.

Kerik's royalties on the book have so far totaled $75,954.52, sources told The News.

The deal came about when Kerik was engaged in a torrid year-long affair with the book's publisher, Judith Regan, as The News revealed in December.

In contrast, former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who also wrote an introduction to the book, accepted no money. Von Essen directed ReganBooks to include his payment in its charitable donation, according to the publisher's spokesman.

"Von Essen did not want to get paid, and in lieu of getting paid he wanted the money donated to charity," said Paul Crichton, a ReganBooks spokesman.

Kerik's reps say he donated some of the money to charity but declined to show documentation of that.